Frankly, she does give a damn

She is currently starring in a Broadway show opposite David Hyde Pierce from Frasier. But next month American Jill Paice will fly to London to start rehearsals for one of the most hotly anticipated productions of the year - the musical version of Gone With The Wind.

Paice, 27, has been picked by director Trevor Nunn for the plum part of Scarlett O'Hara in his new show that opens in the West End in April.

It is the role played by Vivien Leigh in the 1939 film version of Margaret Mitchell's American Civil War epic - and one many British actresses would kill for. But New Yorker Paice believes her casting is only fair, saying: "Vivien Leigh was English and she came over here and trumped all the Hollywood stars of the time, so this is payback!"

She has been desperate to play the part since growing up as "an air force brat" in Ohio. "I was sort of unnaturally obsessed with it as a child and read the book several times and saw the movie so many times," said Paice.

"When I sat down at a dinner with Trevor Nunn and he mentioned it, I couldn't believe that anybody thought of turning it into a musical. But I spouted all this information about Gone With The Wind at him."

Paice previously worked with Nunn in London when she played Laura Fairlie in the original production of The Woman In White.

O'Hara is the eldest of three daughters whose life of luxury on their father's plantation is threatened by the war. Gone With The Wind follows her story, including a turbulent relationship with Rhett Butler, over 10 years.

"What I love about it is it's this story of survival and overcoming just a thousand hardships," said Paice. "People keep saying to me, '[Scarlett's] so mean' but I've always thought of her as a survivor. She gets her family through hard times and ultimately triumphs."

The actress is leaving her current show, Curtains, a Kander and Ebb murder musical, early so she can start rehearsals in London on 11 February.

"London is my favourite town," she said. "It is something about the history and I love the culture."

Butler, played by Clark Gable in the film, is yet to be cast.

Gone With The Wind previews at the New London Theatre from 5 April.